PM2.5 air quality monitors can be a great tool to ensure the air you are breathing is safe. So what are the best PM2.5 air quality monitors in 2022? Which air quality monitors are the most accurate?
PM2.5 Air Quality Monitor Tests
The South Coast AQMD tested 55 PM2.5 air quality monitors for accuracy. All monitors were field tested inside a custom-made aluminum enclosure. As you can see from the rankings below, one thing is clear: price and accuracy are not correlated.
Note: R2 is used as the measure of the accuracy of the monitors. R2 measures how much variance exists between the actual value of PM2.5 versus the calculated value by each monitor. An R2 of .7 is represented by an accuracy of 70% in this article.
Read More: Tests Show Cheap Air Quality Monitors More Accurate Than Expensive Competition
Rankings: Best PM2.5 Air Quality Monitors in 2022
The Best (>85% accuracy)
The PurpleAir PA-II was the most accurate air quality sensor tested, with a 95% accuracy. It also was the only monitor in the top 6 that is waterproof and can be used outdoors. The popular Elitech Temtop LKC-1000S+ and Atmotube Pro were not too far behind with a tested 91% and 88% accuracy. All three of the top-performing air quality monitors were under $250, well under the average price of the monitors tested.
1. PurpleAir PA-II
Tested Accuracy: 95%
Estimated Price: $249
Weatherproof: Yes
2. Elitech Temtop LKC-1000S+
Tested Accuracy: 91%
Estimated Price: $140
Weatherproof: No
3. QP Lite (Qingping)
Note: The QP Pro and Lite have been Smart Air’s recommended air quality monitors since our 2022 independent tests. The results were so impressive we decided to add them to the clean air shop. The independent field tests of the QP monitors from the California government (used to make these rankings) came out this week, with the two monitors having the lowest error rate of any monitor ever tested.
Tested Accuracy: 89%
Estimated Price: $99
Weatherproof: No
4. QP Pro (Qingping)
Tested Accuracy: 88%
Estimated Price: $139
Weatherproof: No
5. Atmotube Pro
Tested Accuracy: 88%
Estimated Price: $189
Weatherproof: No
The Pretty Good (>70% accuracy)
Half of the air quality monitors tested had accuracy between 70 and 85%. This group included popular air quality sensors including Kaiterra Laser Egg, Temtop M2000, IQAir AirVisual Pro, and the Dylos DC1100 Pro.
6. Kaiterra Laser Egg 2+
Tested Accuracy: 83%
Estimated Price: $199
Weatherproof: No
7. Edimax Edigreen Home
Tested Accuracy: 82%
Estimated Price: $299
Weatherproof: No
8. Air Quality Egg (Version 2)
Tested Accuracy: 82%
Estimated Price: $240
Weatherproof: No
9. TSI AirAssure
Tested Accuracy: 82%
Estimated Price: $1500
Weatherproof: Yes
10. Elitech Temtop M2000 (2nd Generation)
Tested Accuracy: 79%
Estimated Price: $100
Weatherproof: No
11. Dylos DC1100 Pro
Tested Accuracy: 75%
Estimated Price: $300
Weatherproof: No
12. IQAir AirVisual Pro
Tested Accuracy: 72%
Estimated Price: $270
Weatherproof: No
13. TSI BlueSky
Tested Accuracy: 70%
Estimated Price: $400
Weatherproof: Yes
The Not So Good (<70% accuracy)
7 of the air quality monitors tested under 70% accuracy. Ironically, the most expensive monitor tested, Aeroqual Series 500 ($1,000+), was in this group of worst performers.
14. Hanvon N1
Tested Accuracy: 65%
Estimated Price: $200
Weatherproof: No
15. Elitech Temtop P20
Tested Accuracy: 64%
Estimated Price: 70%
Weatherproof: No
16. Dylos DC1700-PM
Tested Accuracy: 63%
Estimated Price: $475
Weatherproof: No
17. Aeroqual Series 500
Tested Accuracy: 56%
Estimated Price: $1490
Weatherproof: No
18. Foobot
Tested Accuracy: 55%
Estimated Price: $200
Weatherproof: No
19. Speck
Tested Accuracy: 32%
Estimated Price: $150
Weatherproof: No
20. Plume Labs (Flow 2)
Tested Accuracy: 7%
Estimated Price: $199
Weatherproof: No
Bonus: The QP Air Quality Monitors
Since publishing this article, Smart Air has tested a new set of air quality monitors: The QP Lite and QP Pro. After testing out the monitors, we were impressed with their accuracy and functionality. We have replaced the Laser Egg on our Clean Air Shop, with the QP monitors.
Analysis
The old phrase “you get what you pay for” does not apply to air quality monitors. The tests show air quality monitors have little correlation between price and accuracy. There can even be large variation between different models of one brand. The accuracy of each of the three Elitech Temtop monitors varied significantly. The Temtop LKC-1000S+ ranked as the most accurate monitor while the Temtop P20 was one of the worst.
| Monitor | Price (USD) | Accuracy |
| PurpleAir PA-II | $250 | 95% |
| Elitech Temtop LKC-1000S+ | $140 | 91% |
| QP Lite (Qingping) | $99 | 89% |
| QP Pro (Qingping) | $139 | 88% |
| Atmotube Pro | $189 | 88% |
| Kaiterra Laser Egg 2+ | $199 | 83% |
| Edimax Edigreen Home | $299 | 82% |
| Air Quality Egg (Version 2) | $240 | 82% |
| TSI AirAssure | $1500 | 82% |
| Elitech Temtop M2000 (2nd Generation) | $100 | 79% |
| Dylos DC1100 Pro | $300 | 75% |
| IQAir AirVisual Pro | $270 | 72% |
| TSI BlueSky | $400 | 70% |
| Hanvon N1 | $200 | 65% |
| Elitech Temtop P20 | $70 | 64% |
| Dylos DC1700-PM | $475 | 63% |
| Aeroqual Series 500 | $1490 | 56% |
| Foobot | $200 | 55% |
| Speck | $150 | 32% |
| Plume Labs (Flow 2) | $199 | 7% |
Smart Air Recommended Top 5 PM2.5 Air Quality Monitors
Elitech Temtop LKC-1000S+: Sensor provides real-time measurements of PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations, formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It also displays temperature, relative humidity and AQI. It features a histogram function to display PM2.5 concentration changes in the latest 12 hours. This device is not weatherproof.
PurpleAir PA-II: Sensor is an optical particle counter. Measurements down to PM.3. This device is weatherproof.
QP Lite: Tracks PM2.5, PM10, CO2, temperature, and humidity.
QP Pro: Tracks 5 key metrics: PM2.5, dangerous gases (tVOC), CO2, temperature, and humidity. 3.1 inches, PPI 328, touch screen.
Atmotube Pro: Sensor provides real-time measurements of PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It also measures temperature, relative humidity and pressure. This device is not weatherproof.
Open Data
The South Coast AQMD performed the air quality monitor tests. The complete test data are openly available on their website.
How I Protect Myself
Smart Air is a certified B Corp committed to combating the myths big companies use to inflate the price of clean air.
Smart Air provides empirically backed, no-nonsense purifiers and masks, that remove the same particles as the big companies for a fraction of the cost. Only corporations benefit when clean air is a luxury.
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